Young people start work in New Parks

I wish I could take every single person who thinks political parties are all the same, and that there’s no difference between Labour and the Tories, to meet the young people who’ve got work through Labour’s Future Jobs Fund.

Like the 17 young men who’ve just started work with Leicester Council’s Housing Department helping to improve local communities in and around New Parks, cleaning up communal areas and doing gardening, fixing fences and basic repairs.

Excuse the cliché but this really is a ‘win win’. The Council can tackle lots of things that matter to local residents, but which often end up at the bottom of the list. And young people can get training, new skills, work and an income – plus a hefty dose of self-confidence.

The young men I met in New Parks thought the Future Jobs Fund was a great scheme.

Some of them would have liked it to start before they’d been unemployed for 6 months because the longer you leave it, the harder it is to get back into work and the routine of work. All of them wanted to work more hours and earn more money, and for the scheme to last longer than 6 months. I said the only way they could guarantee that was by voting Labour at the next election.